Just Say Know

Hello there, you great big wonderful internet. My name is j0n and I intend to provide interesting and informative articles about drugs and drug use. One of the most egregious side effects of the War on Drugs (or “War on Some Drugs” as many think is more appropriate a moniker) is the suppression of information that it entails. Not only is this a tragedy in its own right, as access to information is a vital cornerstone of democracy, but when dealing with drugs, misinformation can be deadly. Indeed, if not for this War on Drugs, many overdoses and other negative effects of drugs could be easily prevented. Sadly, it is often the case in drug-related deaths that if the individual had received accurate information about drugs, instead of the hype and propaganda dispersed by our government, he or she would still be alive today.

Though I don’t intend to fill this site soley with dry facts about pharmacology (though I do love me some pharmacology); I also intend to throw in assorted interesting things I find here and there related to drug policy, drug lore, and well, anything else that has to do with drugs.

In any case, it is in such a vein that I will begin my first article. I suspect every reader of this blog will be familiar with one Thomas B. Kin Chong, better known as Tommy Chong from “Cheech and Chong” fame. Many of you may know that in 2003, Mr Chong was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison, a fine of $20,000, forfeiture of $103,514, and the loss of all items seized during the preceding raid [1]. He received this sentence as a result of the US Department of Justice’s Operation Pipedreams, which targeted Paris (Tommy’s son) Chong’s Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, among a couple hundred other retailers of pipes and other smoking accessories (i.e., headshops).

Incidentally, Operation Pipedreams was launched on the second anniversary of September 11, 2001. It cost US taxpayers more than $12,000,000 and involved the work of about 2,000 law enforcement officers [2]. Out of this entire effort, Tommy Chong was the only person sentenced to jail time, despite the fact that he was only tangentially involved in the Chong Glass business (primarily as an advertising draw and financier) and despite the fact that he had no prior criminal record (while other people caught in Operation Pipedreams did). BTW, in case you’ve been asleep the past several years, Bin Laden’s still at large. Just sayin..

At any rate, it has been postulated that the reason Tommy was targeted so harshly, compared to the other 54 people that were tried in the operation, was to use him as an example, given his iconic stature in the world of stonerdom. This supposition is supported by the fact that, during his trial, his character in the film “Up in Smoke” was used as evidence against him. Note, not only was this presented as evidence, but it was ACCEPTED as evidence. Boggles the mind, dunnit? Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher compared this to Arnold Schwarzenegger being tried for all the cops that the Terminator killed.

Anyhoo, up to the present day, and the point of this article. A couple months ago, a documentary about this fiasco was released on DVD; a/k/a Tommy Chong, written and directed by Josh Gilbert. I’ve yet to see this film, but it looks pretty interesting (and I’d be interested to hear from anyone who’s seen it what they thought of it). But if you haven’t seen it and you want to, you better get a copy quick. On May 7th, Spectrum Labs, one of the main distributors of a/k/a Tommy Chong and maker of detoxification products*, was raided by the DEA:

…federal agents seized 8,000-10,000 copies of the movie AKA Tommy Chong. The movie is a documentary critical of Buchanan and the federal government’s persecution of Chong. Federal agents apparently think it’s drug paraphernalia.

He called the documentary a “focal point” of the raid. It was released about a month ago, and sales were slow, Mr. Chong said.

“The lawyer representing the Newport company, Spectrum Laboratories, said a competitor of her client had a facility raided the same day in Union Township, Clermont County. An FBI spokesman confirmed a Clermont County raid in connection to the Newport investigation but said he could not elaborate, because the search warrant was sealed.

“It’s selling like crazy now, thanks to Mary Beth**. She’s brought us a nice publicity gimmick.” [3]

The Feds have been unusually tight lipped about the raid, even for them:

The execution of the sealed search warrants was part of a nationwide investigation originating out of Pittsburgh, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rich Isaacson said. Officials declined to say what was sought in the raid.

The lawyer representing the Newport company, Spectrum Laboratories, said a competitor of her client had a facility raided the same day in Union Township, Clermont County. An FBI spokesman confirmed a Clermont County raid in connection to the Newport investigation but said he could not elaborate, because the search warrant was sealed.

“I expect the investigation to unfold over a number of months, if not years,” said Spectrum attorney Jennifer Kinsley of Cincinnati. [4]

Welp, that’s the scoop for now. If I find any more info on this current raid, I’ll pass it along.

* Regarding detoxifcation products, simply put, do not buy them. They do nothing to speed up the rate at which drugs are excreted from the body. I’ll write about this in more detail in a future article, but genuinely, honestly, and truly, they do nothing. They don’t do anything bad mind you, they just do nothing. Now, on the other hand, Spectrum labs does sell a product (or perhaps several) that would work to pass a pee test. These are synthetic types of urine. However, it should be duly noted that faking a piss test in any way is A FELONY. That is, if you get caught doin that sort of thing, you’re in for some serious shit.

** Referring to US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who led Operation Pipedreams.

References:

[1] “Chong Actor Tommy Chong gets nine months for selling pot pipes“, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 13th September 2003.

[2] “Chong Family Values“, LA Weekly Times, 4th December 2003.

[3] Balko, R. Mary, Mary, Why You Buggin’?
Reason Magazine, May 21, 2008.

[4] Hannah, J. Feds raid Ky. business The Enquirer, May 8, 2008.